Grid Modernization News

Apr 5, 2015, 18:00 by Heather Lammers

Dr. Erfan Ibrahim has joined the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory as director of Cyber Physical Systems Security and Resilience for NREL’s Energy Systems Integration directorate. This critical area of research and development addresses the challenges of integrating clean energy sources into the national energy infrastructure.

Mar 30, 2015, 18:00 by Heather Lammers

The Solar Access to Public Capital (SAPC) working group has released new best practices guidelines for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, with the goal of increasing investor confidence in the long-term viability of PV systems. The guides — SAPC Best Practices in PV System Installation and SAPC Best Practices in PV Operations and Maintenance — were developed by SAPC subcommittees, each involving dozens of solar and finance entities.

Mar 18, 2015, 18:00 by User Not Found

In the search for abundant and sustainable options to petroleum-derived fuels, biofuels stand out as a promising alternative. An NREL study is determining which biomass-derived oxygenates are most commercially feasible in drop-in fuels that are compatible with existing engines and fuel distribution.

Mar 18, 2015, 18:00 by Heather Lammers

Dr. Dan E. Arvizu today announced that he intends to retire at the end of September from his role as the Director and Chief Executive of the Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.

Mar 8, 2015, 18:00 by William Scanlon

Engineers travel the globe to help save energy, improve lives.

Mar 8, 2015, 18:00 by David Glickson

The Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has used the Battery Lifetime Analysis and Simulation Tool (BLAST) to confirm that energy storage for demand-charge management can deliver attractive economic benefits. The analysis paired recent utility rate structures with historic data on solar photovoltaic electricity generation and commercial facility loads to evaluate 6,860 unique scenarios. The results revealed that, in the absence of incentives, small battery systems reducing peak demand by 2.5 percent offer the most attractive return on investment.

Mar 5, 2015, 17:00 by Jennifer Josey

On March 7, Colorado high school students will rack their brains to quickly find answers to rapid-fire questions at the 25th Colorado High School Science Bowl. Competition rounds begin at 9 a.m. and will last until 12:30 p.m., at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO.

Feb 25, 2015, 17:00 by Heather Lammers

A new study from the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) demonstrates the conversion of lignin-derived compounds to adipic acid, an important industrial dicarboxylic acid produced for its use as a precursor to nylon, plasticizers, lubricants, polyesters, and other popular products and chemicals.

Feb 24, 2015, 17:00 by Kelly Yaker

In recent years, researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have been making progress in multiple avenues of wind systems engineering. This includes the study of how to integrate wind energy engineering and cost models across wind plants, finding the important interactions between various subsystems to achieve a better understanding of how to improve system-level performance and cost reductions, and hosting international, collaborative workshops.

Feb 24, 2015, 17:00 by Kelly Yaker

Marine and hydrokinetic technologies convert the kinetic energy from ocean waves, tides, currents, and ocean thermal resources into electricity. The development and evolution of these technologies towards commercial and economic operation has proven to be a slow and expensive process. To help reduce the risks of industry failures and advance the development of current and new technologies at a lower cost and faster pace, the U.S. Department of Energy and National Renewable Energy Laboratory created a framework that provides a risk management methodology to identify and reduce risks during all stages of technology development and particularly prior to demonstration activities.

Feb 24, 2015, 17:00 by Kelly Yaker

Researchers who conduct regional wind integration studies in the United States need to perform simulations of how the power system will operate under high-penetration scenarios. To do this they need detailed wind power output data from many locations. The wind data sets that are used in these studies must realistically reflect the ramping characteristics, spatial and temporal correlations, and capacity factors of the simulated wind plants, and must be time-synchronized with available load profiles.

Feb 24, 2015, 17:00 by Kelly Yaker

In 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in conjunction with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), created a Wind Career Map—the first of its kind in the wind industry—to inform people interested in wind energy career opportunities.

Feb 24, 2015, 17:00 by Kelly Yaker

Offshore and land-based wind turbine systems are subject to complex and harsh operating conditions. When designing systems for such conditions, wind technology developers need powerful tools. One such tool is the computer-aided engineering tool called FAST, developed and supported by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The laboratory has recently released an improved and expanded version of FAST that features a new modularization framework that boosts the tool’s power, robustness, and flexibility.

Feb 23, 2015, 17:00 by Devonie McCamey

Comprehensive handbook is a valuable resource for the solar industry on the collection and interpretation of solar resource data for each stage of a solar energy project, from initial site selection to systems operations.

Feb 22, 2015, 17:00 by User Not Found

DuPont-NREL partnership lowered costs, proved success, paved way to 30-million-gallon facility opening in Iowa.

Feb 19, 2015, 17:00 by Jennifer Josey

Due to inclement weather, the 25th annual Colorado High School Science Bowl has been cancelled. Information on the rescheduled event will be available in the near future.

Feb 17, 2015, 17:00 by Kelly Yaker

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is pleased to announce that the Energy Department has announced the twelve collegiate teams that have been selected to participate in the second U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition.

Feb 12, 2015, 17:00 by Devonie McCamey

New report highlights research and achievements for the ESIF in its first year of operation.

Feb 11, 2015, 17:00 by Heather Lammers

Inverter load rejection overvoltage (LRO) tests completed by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory as part of a cooperative research agreement with SolarCity have proven so successful that a testing partner, Hawaiian Electric Companies (HECO), has proposed to double its hosting capacity for solar energy.

Feb 10, 2015, 17:00 by Sara Havig

This Fuel Cell Technologies Office webinar, presented by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, will explore the synergy between a facility's use of hydrogen fuel cell forklifts and its reduction of electric grid time of use energy charges.